Calvin
archivist Richard Harms sets up the rare book display which includes
printed text dating as far back as 1250.

Books can seem dull
in an age of e-mail, e-books and web-browsing phones. That's why a display
unveiled in January at Calvin is so important. It pays tribute to the
timelessness and durability of books-ideas committed to words and paper
and preserved for generations.

"Wisdom of the
Ages" is a display of 50 classic books many of which are first-editions
dating back anywhere from 200 to 800 years. And they will not just be
on display, but also will be available for use: for hands-on research,
for leisurely perusal and for simple historical reflection.

The display opened
January 24, 2002, and will remain until the end of June 2002.

It's all part of
an innovative project by the Remnant Trust, an Indiana based educational
foundation that is home to a collection of more than 400 rare volumes
and manuscripts dating back to the 1200s. The Trust loans its collection
to colleges and universities under one condition: that students be able
to handle the collection.

Democracy
in America. Alexis de Tocqueville's classic study of American
institutions, the first serious study of the effects of democracy.

So, visitors to Calvin
will be able to see and touch such books as: a 1475 edition of Aquinas'
Summa Theologiae, a 1610 edition of Augustine's Citie of God,
a 1787 first pamphlet printing of the U.S. Constitution, the first public
printing in 1862 of the Emancipation Proclamation, a 1651 edition of Leviathan
by Hobbes, the first printing in 1806 in America of the Koran,
Lincoln's Gettsyburg Address from 1863, an 1838 edition of Tocqueville's
Democracy in America and a 1792 first edition of Wollstonecraft's
A Vindication of the Rights of Women as well as leaves from four
early Bibles, including one from 1250.

President Gaylen
Byker landed the collection for Calvin, having heard about it from several
colleagues at other universities and colleges. He had a chance to preview
the books prior to their arrival at Calvin. He says the experience is
a special one.

"This is a terrific
opportunity," he says. "When you hold these old, first-edition
works in your hands it gives you a sense of perspective and history that
is very powerful."

Byker says the collection
coming to Calvin is stunning for its breadth and depth.

Summa Theologiae,
for example, is one of only three known copies of this edition in the
world. One is in the British Museum in London and the other in the Newberry
in Chicago. This is the most perfect of the three. A Vindication of
the Rights of Women is considered a classic work on freedom, equality
and education. It caused an outcry when it was published and is hailed
as a cornerstone of feminism. Leviathan had a peculiar relevance
for the American Revolutionaries. Hobbes has a fundamentally pessimistic
view of human nature, which had a powerful influence on the framers of
the Constitution.

Remnant Trust president
Kris Bex believes it is important for students and others to read these
great works about freedom, liberty and democracy. "We're trying to
show people," he says, "that the idea of liberty didn't suddenly
appear 200 years ago with the Founding Fathers. It's a great experiment
over the centuries going back to Aristotle and others."

The Remnant Trust
built its rare collection both by working with book dealers around the
globe and by traveling to estate sales, auctions, book fairs and even
flea markets.

Calvin archivist
Richard Harms set up the books for display and believes this to be a great
opportunity for the Calvin community.

"It's exciting
to be able to provide patrons the opportunity to see and use these first
and early editions," he says. "Because of their importance and
value, using such sources directly is not easy, but in this case the titles
are coming to us with the expectation that they be used."

The books arrived
at Calvin on December 21 and an opening celebration occurred January 24
in the Calvin Archives. The display will be packed away again at the end
of June.

Heritage
Hall
The archives of Calvin College and the Christian Reformed Church